Work weekend wrap up

I had a mysterious illness the last 2 days, I'm chalking it up to dehydration, & am feeling better now :)

Anywho, here's a recap of the weekend. 

Ava and Hunter, Hunter, Finn, snippets from work, next week's dinners, herbs

I'll try to be more on top of posts for next week including some recipes I'm pretty amped for!

Wrapping up some busy weeks

We've had a dozen or so very busy days over here. I ended up picking up some more shifts at work and worked 10/11 days last week and, while I'm definitely not complaining, I'm glad to be able to (hopefully) regain a sense of normality so I can get a handle on things and get them moving forward again. I only have 3 days off this week, but should be back to 3 on, 4 off by next week. It's funny how being pregnant catylized things forward so rapidly, that I feel like a slacker now that things have begun to normalize, over a year later! I really want to get back in to school, but I'm still a little clueless on how to go about it. When I was last in school on a regular basis, hardly anyone had a laptop or a cell phone, and a tablet was something more associated with the 10 commandments than computer devices. I know I need to just try to let it all go, and dive in, but I'm feeling a little intimidated still and I'm not quite there yet, as much as I hate to admit it. 

As busy as this week has been, I wasn't able to document the boys' eats as much this week, but here's a sampling:

Peaches, corn, peas and rice cakes

Eggs, maple toast and blueberries 

I also tried a new recipe, and it turned out really good!

Balsamic strawberry mint chicken, roasted red potatoes and salad

Recipe found here: http://pinterest.com/pin/78672324715732718/ 

(I replaced the basil with mint because I didn't have any fresh basil.... I felt like it worked though!)

Friday for me

Fridays are my 'Sundays'. I work Saturday-Monday and stay home with the boys Tuesday-Friday. Our main car is in the shop, and I have to drive the truck to work tomorrow. It's a stick shift, which I can handle, but the truck has no power steering, so I'm going to be practicing my strong arm skills a little later on tonight.....

All in all it was a productive day. Fridays are always a little bitter sweet, I really like my job, and I feel like it's good for me to get away for a few days, and make a little extra money, but it always makes me a little sad to not be with the boys during the day.....I mean, look at Hunter, my little den creature! How cute is that face??

Always creeping under the furniture!!

Speaking of the boys, they both have two top teeth and two bottom teeth now, so to celebrate, they had a solids only breakfast! Scrambled eggs and toast! Yay!!

I also made a really delicious dinner tonight! Porchetta with tomatoes, olives, garlic and Marcona almonds w/ rosemary & Kale

Porchetta recipe here: http://pinterest.com/pin/78672324717081185/

For the topping, I toasted the almonds (half cup or so) in a large, rimmed, oiled skillet, then I added the olives (1/3 jar, drained) and the roasted garlic from the porchetta (just squeeze the cloves out of the halved heads right into the skillet) and some rosemary needles. Stir around a min or so until fragrant. Then add tomatoes (do not drain!) some salt and pepper and simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated. At this point, I added a handful of kale and turned the heat off and covered while I prepared the plates and sliced the porchetta. I then put 2-3 slices of porchetta, and topped with a generous amount of the topping.

Topping ingredients

Bon Apitit!

I've been needing to start blogging again.....

I’ve been wanting to start up blogging again but I’m still undergoing a lot of change and have been trying to work out how much of it I want to share ‘publicly’. My divorce was finalized on the last day of last year, so I’ve felt compelled to continue moving forward in every way possible. I haven’t necessarily been very patient with myself, so i feel that in some respects I have moved forward by leaps and bounds, and in others have kind of just been spinning my wheels. Fortunately I seem to have the disposition that leads me to look for the lesson to be learned or the positive side of things regardless of how bleak things seem in the moment, and that provides me with a profound sense of peace. I’ve been quietly mulling over what it is I hope to look back at come December 31st of this year. I still feel apprehensive about posting about it, but there are a few specific things and those seem to be falling into place.

My impulse control this year was much looser than I usually allow, and I definitely didn’t escape unscathed. However, the hurts will heal and I will be a better person one day for enduring and learning from what I’ve endured. I’ve learned that you can be good, you can be right, you can always be striving to be the bigger person, and other people will still find a way to use you or hurt you, no matter how hard you try to avoid it. Part of me wants to be like, ‘fuck people in general’ and just sit at home and binge watch tv, however, I firmly believe that none of the connections I’ve made this year were in vain. For every friend I’ve made (or attempted to make) and lost, there are at least a half a dozen new friendships that have been forged and I am eternally grateful for. As for the friends who have fallen by the wayside or away all together, I’m grateful for those as well. They’ve taught me about myself more than anything else, and that is always a good thing.

There are some pretty big changes coming down the pike of my life and I’m excited about what the future holds.
My work situation is changing, in both location and responsibility and I’m stoked about that for sure, this summer is shaping up to be a good one, providing its not unseasonably cold….. Which is still a distinct possibility seeing as I live in the Pacific Northwest.


The weekend is approaching and I’m looking forward to hopefully hiking with some friends (pictures to follow, fingers crossed!) as well as an Easter themed fiesta (you read that right) and of course, Sunday karaoke! :)
Stay tuned….